Loss
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Since this is essentially one match, we spliced them all together under the first air date, even though it aired over multiple weeks. They were all on the same taping, and they did new entrances for each round, but they were all different rounds in the same match. It will be fun to take a look at this in one viewing, since I don't think I ever have. Round 1 Flair looks great. It's really fun seeing him break out so many things on the mat that he almost never does. This round goes about seven minutes and is a draw, but Regal won the round on a 2-1 judge's decision. Hey, Grizzly Smith was a judge! And Sgt. Craig Pittman? Round 2 More of the same. You almost wish this could have gotten some time on PPV at some point, because Flair feels so fresh due to the difference in style. This time, Flair is the more dominant one, where the first round was more even. The judges scored this round evenly, which surprises me since Flair controlled so much of it. Round 3 Terry Taylor has replaced Grizzly Smith as a judge. While the work is still really good, this is suffering in presentation. Jesse is an improvement over Bobby in this style, but the Worldwide Arena is hindering it. I would love to see how an arena crowd would respond to this, though. Regal applying the armbar while Flair is standing but he's laying on the mat is tremendous. Flair applies the figure four with a little over 30 seconds left on the clock and Regal hangs on. It's not enough, as Flair wins the round based on unanimous judge's decision. Round 4 This gets a little more aggressive, with Regal landing some aggressive uppercuts, Flair going stiff with the chops, and Regal locking in a bow and arrow. Regal's execution of simple moves like a backslide is just tremendous. Flair takes a bump to the floor after an awkwardly awesome collision. This has been the best round so far. They go to another draw. Round 5 Ok, my understanding had always been that this was one match, but WCW edited it to make it seem like more. Round 5, with Flair with a haircut in a different robe, and with changes to the Worldwide set, makes clear that isn't the case. The last minute of this with Regal throwing rapid fire uppercuts has some great drama, and the finish of Sir William interfering behind the ref's back costing him the deciding round was some fun poetic justice. The judges ruled this a draw, so now we're in sudden death. The action here is pretty intense, as they are both desperately trying to win the round. Flair gets the win by pinfall despite Sir William interference. ************* Because of the confusion over whether to count this as one match, two matches or five matches, I'm not going to include this in the rankings for the month. But this is something everyone should check out, because Flair and Regal really do work well together. Even this late, Flair was capable of doing something fresh and having great matches as long as he was booked properly. Taken all together, this is ****-****1/4 and would likely be in the top 100 for the year. It's a great "match". But it's not fair to consider it one match. -
Really good match, but I can't tell you how much I hate the atmosphere of the Worldwide Arena. This is the match that led to Cactus wanting to leave WCW, as he was assured they would put over the history between the two on commentary and the announcers didn't really treat the match very seriously. It's a shame, because it's something that would have gotten over really big at just about any arena in the country. They accomplished quite a bit in a 7-minute match. Vader takes some unprotected chairshots, and Cactus takes another powerbomb outside the ring.
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I have now learned the phrase "let it rip, potato chip and let it go, Fritos." Dream Machine rules! I love feuds like this that tie in the historical perspective -- in this case, they go back to 1981, Lawler's broken leg, and Jimmy Hart and the First Family. I enjoyed this.
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Joined in progress after the commercial break. Shawn's tank top looks like something that would be in the window of one of the shops in my neighborhood. This is either insanely heated, insanely piped or both. Shawn takes a pair of great bumps from ringside. Diesel ends up pinning Razor to win the IC title, thus beginning his megapush. And wrestling would never be the same again.
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This is a really great match! It's weird because it has a reputation, but also doesn't really have a reputation at all. Dave Scherer discovered it on a random commercial tape years ago and sent it to Dave Meltzer because he was so impressed by it. Both agreed it was a ***** match. Scherer noted this on the liner notes on one of his old RSPW tapes. And that's why it's on the yearbook. Beyond that, it has never really been talked up too much at all that I am aware of. Sasuke gets in a cheapshot during intros. They brawl in their ring jackets, with Sasuke even doing a somersault plancha to the floor in his jacket! How often do you see that in Japan? Sasuke's overzealousness allows him to take an early advantage, but as soon as Shinzaki regroups, he's the one in control for the next few minutes, as they work some pretty fun mat stuff. Sasuke's comeback is built around his footwork. They dabble in UWFI a little, teasing the possibility of Shinzaki getting knocked out. The kicks are clearly worked, but they look great, and Shinzaki's dazed selling of them is fantastic. Shinzaki's desperation dropkick is a great moment that gets over big. From there, they go into the standard juniors stretch of big moves and nearfalls, and it's one that is done exceptionally well, especially because Sasuke hits all of his highspots so beautifully. Highlights include the Space Flying Tiger Drop, which leads to him trying it a second time. This time though, Shinzaki is ready for him and Sasuke doesn't hit the move, and gets powerbombed on the floor to boot. Shinzaki rolls him back in and hits him with three diving headbutts and gets a surprise win. Outstanding match! I'm curious if anyone else agres that it's better than anything from the J Cup, and something that needs to be seen and talked about more.
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Clip of Peaches whipping Sandman with a belt. The Sandman comes back and throws powder in Sal Bellomo's eyes and beats up Tommy Dreamer. Sandman makes a comeback, but Cairo cuts him off, and it's really unclear to me if Sandman is a babyface or heel at this point. Woman shows up and attacks Peaches, and I guess I have my answer. He pulls up Peaches' dress and Woman starts whipping Peaches until Cairo makes another save. We cut back to Joey Styles interviewing Sandman. They hype a mixed tag match at ECW Arena.
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Tremendous, violent spectacle. This is a Coward's Way Out match, which means there is no referee, and the only way to win is to beat up your opponent so badly that he runs back to the dressing room. They throw some wild punches at each other in the early minutes before DM grabs a board and starts trying to choke Lawler out with it. Because there's no referee, there's no one to stop him. Both guys are busted open hardaway and this is a war. DM eats a piledriver on the floor and sells it like he's dead, only for a bloodthirsty crowd to beg him to do it one more time. This time, DM cuts him off with a low blow and starts choking him with the microphone cord. These punches are just crazy. GREAT finish, as DM is unloading fists on Lawler, Lawler throws fire at him, and DM takes off running to the locker room. I LOVED this match. So basic, but so brutal, and a nice, rare treat to get a Mid South Coliseum match in full.
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Some guy in a sandwich shop claims to have seen the Undertaker. Undertaker apparently ordered a sandwich and disappeared before it could be given to him, not fully understanding the dine-and-dash concept.
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I guess it's time to set up the Million Dollar Corporation. Nikolai Volkoff admits that he has no money, but he has his health and he's happy. Lawler is just BRUTAL in insulting him, getting in some great insults.
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Gotta love self-congratulatory WWF PR, especially when politicians get involved. In this case, the mayor of Stanford, CT, cuts a video for them.
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Regal and Sir William are out with the Marquis of Queensbury Cup. He apparently won the cup at the Royal Albert Hall at the invite of the queen! He explains the rules and challenges Flair to a match under these rules. Later in the show, Flair accepts the challenge.
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Lawler is hosting the show today with Cory Maclin, as Dave Brown has the day off. They make clear early on that Lawler had to sign something that he can't get involved no matter what, which tells me that something is going to happen where he has to get involved. They recap an altercation the previous week between Lawler and Dream Machine. The two had a really fun brawl behind the curtain in the studio and ended up going into the parking lot. Lawler even threw DM in the back of a pickup truck! Later, we get clips of their MSC match the previous Monday. Both guys talk a lot of trash before the match, and the highlights shown are really good, with Lawler throwing some great punches at him and busting him open before DDTing him on the floor. Pretty one-sided in the clips, which is the whole point. This is almost like the '85 Lawler/Dundee match, only with the babyface as the aggressor. DM finally turns the tide by nailing him with a chain and getting the pin after getting decimated for the full match. Cory Maclin interview DM after the match, and he looks brutal. Back in the studio, Lawler is cutting a promo on DM when he shows up, as expected. DM tries to provoke Lawler into a fight by referencing his "mama and dead daddy", and that does the job. They have a pull-apart while DM screams about his dead daddy! Good stuff.
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MORE HOTEL PUNS. MAKE IT STOP, SHAWN. Funny to see Shawn sucking up to Perfect after they spent the previous year feuding, but they at least acknowledge the past feud, which makes me happy. They hype an upcoming feud with Luger, and I have never been completely clear on why he left the WWF this time.
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Could Joey Styles be any more annoying? Really good match. Funk really brings out the best in Sabu because he knows how to work with a madman. He seems to be trying a lot of new things here, including a piledriver from the middle rope on to a steel chair, which is nuts to even try! At one point, Funk starts hitting himself with a table. Really, this is more about the chaos than anything specific that happens, so I give them credit for creating something that really felt wild and out of control. BOBBY EATON debuts in the post-match after helping Sabu win! Arn Anderson quickly makes the save! Fun stuff.
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Duke The Dumpster Droese doesn't take garbage from anyone ... oh, wait, yes he does.
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This is a hard match to describe. Seeing it in yearbook format compared to seeing it in isolated fashion has a definite impact. On the plus side, we get an excellent 30 minute-plus match with two vets who know what they're doing. On the downside, this feels behind the times of where wrestling was at the time. I say that, but at the same time, Flair and Steamboat are still as good as almost anyone at milking drama in holds -- backslides, trying to escape a side headlock, the long struggle to lock in a figure four and so on. I would go as far as to say that the working of basic holds was done better than in any All Japan singles match in '94 to this point. Pretty high praise. But this didn't feel like a match that was giving the audience quite what it wanted. But still, the working of basic holds is where this match shines. Steamboat's top-rope superplex is a really strong moment, and you watch and wish there was more of that sort of thing, that they could have modernized just a little bit, because had they just added some 1994 offense on top of what they were doing, we'd have a classic. Wrestling had changed quite a bit even since the '89 series, which is made apparent by the lack of heat for much of this match compared to the heat Chi-Town Rumble had, which was worked in a similar style. Positioning the referee properly to throw a closed fist is a great lost art, but it's not as effective as it used to be, and it's not something people really care about as much. So this match suffers for being transplanted from another time period, even though as a match, it's excellent. Dustin/Buck and Vader/Boss aren't as good as this, but both matches seem more contemporary. Some of the change is a dumbing down of the wrestling style, which definitely happened in the U.S. in the early 90s. Fans dumbed down with the dumbing down of the style, which is why so many of the subtle things that would have gotten a great reaction a few years earlier don't anymore. But Flair and Steamboat - even in their 40s - are headlining a PPV and people expect certain things from them. I think there were ways they could have played up their strong points, added in some new things and really took the match to a whole new level. Instead, we got a great match with both guys in their comfort zone and nothing more. It's hard to complain about that, but these guys are considered torch bearers too, so you want more from them.
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We get a Vader/Rude pull-apart before the match. Rude going babyface would have been interesting, if that was the plan. This was a really terrific super heavyweight match. Both guys worked really hard. Brutal, with both guys throwing some pretty hard shots and Vader getting busted open around his eye and bleeding from the mouth. They cut a pretty fast pace for this too. Would have fit right in on an All Japan card. Tons of highspots and suplexes. Easily the best thing Ray Traylor ever did in WCW.
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This was outstanding. Buck is really good at feeding spots to Dustin, but wow, Dustin is on fire and just looks awesome. I like how they were able to run this and the Cactus tag on the same show and make them feel so different. This is the better wrestling match of the two. Gotta love Dustin's super fired up comebacks, and this type of match full of jeans, kneepads, belts, powder and blood isn't the type of thing that stuck around on the national scene for very long after this. WCW really felt like a promotion that was finally getting it around this time.
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Insane brawl! My favorite moment is when Cactus is covering one of the Nasties and gets smacked with a surprise shovel out of nowhere. Ten minutes of mayhem. I see this and get pissed off at matches like these getting overdone and the spots getting gratuitous or being played for comedy like they were in the early 00s famed hardcore division. This was excellent, and felt more violent and unpredictable than most weapons-heavy brawls like this of the past decade. It's only 10 minutes, but there was no need for them to go longer.